Baseball baseman&#39;s mitt



Oct. 25, 1949.

A. HILTON 2,485,882

BASEBALL BASEMANS MITT Filed Aug. 2, 1946 IN VEN TOR.

I44 557?? 1%1. ram

ATTOR'N EYS.

Patented Oct. 25, 1949 UNITED BASEBALL BASEMANS. lWITT Albert Hilton,Cincinnati, flhio assignor to Sport Products, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, acorporation of Ohio Application August 2, 1946, Serial No. 688,020

1 Claim.

My invention relates to baseball mitts of the type ordinarily worn by afirst baseman which is not as padded as a catchers mitt but more paddedthan the five fingered glove worn by the other basemen and fielders.

It is the object of my invention to provide a glove of the type notedwhich will effectively block a ball and permit the ball to be retainedin a closure quickly formed by bringing the thumb and fingers together,in which the closure is such that it will immediately open up withmovement apart of the thumb and fingers thereby releasing the ball for aquick throw of the first baseman.

It is a further object of my invention to simplify previousconstructions and render construction of the glove less expensive bydeleting a finger for the first finger and constructing the mitt portionof such size and shape as to receive the four fingers of the hand.

The foregoing objects and other objects to which reference will be madein the following description I accomplish by that certain constructionand combination of elements of which I have illustrated a preferredembodiment.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the leather piece forming the front of theglove.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the leather piece forming the back of themitt portion of the glove.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the leather piece forming the back of thethumb portion of the love.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the ball blocking piece which isflexibly supported between adjacent edges of the thumb and mitt portionsof the glove.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the glove flattened out with the thongmembers not yet secured.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the glove shown in Figure 5 from theback.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the glove showing the lobster clawappearance with dotted lines showing the axis of bending pliability.

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic section showing the manner in which a ball iscaught.

The front surface of the glove is formed preferably from one piecehaving a Wrist portion I, a thumb portion 2 extending out to the left(as illustrated), and a finger mitt portion 3. The surface area of thethumb portion 2, which is slightly longer and narrower, and the mittportion, which is broader and of less length, are about equal and if thetwo parts are folded over along the flexing lines aa each portion willsubstantially cover the other.

Perforations are provided with eyelets 4 and a flexible binding edging 5is sewed to the outer edge of the piece. Padding of desirable thicknessis secured to the under surface of the cover portion and it ispreferably covered with thin, flexible material such as thin leather.

The back of the glove is formed of the pieces 6, l, the piece 6 formingthe back cover for the back of the mitt portion and the piece 1 formingthe back cover for the thumb portion.

The front and back portions are secured together with thongs 8 which maybe of leather. A continuous thong may be employed. By drawing the thongtight, the edges of the front and back portion are secured together.

A flexible ball blocking member 9 is shown mounted in the opening in theglove as indicated with thongs In which may be laced through the loopsof the thong 8 to secure the piece Smidway between adjacent edges of theportions 2 and 3.

The thong laced construction, both for securing the front and back ofthe glove together, and for adjusting. the position of the blockingpiece 9, permits adjustment to fit the hand of the wearer.

When the thumb is moved toward the mitt a line of flexing aa formsautomatically. The appearance of the glove is like a large lobster claw.To localize this flexing I have mounted two stiffening strips Il', l2 inthe padding of the glove as indicated in Figures 5 and '7. Thesestiffening strips may be of leather, paper or fiber material and theirincorporation localizes the flexing along the diagonal line a a. Theparts 2 and 3 have a folding together action about the axis aadiagonally arranged with respect to plane of motion of the parts 2 and3.

In catching the ball the player holds the love so that the ball hitsagainst the blocking piece 9. In some modifications the blocking piecemay be eliminated and heavy laces or thongs may be used to block theball. The ball then drops down into the pocket formed at the juncture ofthe thumb and first finger where it may be readily and quickly pickedout for throwing.

Other features in glove construction common to the art may be employed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

A basemans mitt comprising a thinly padded thumb and mitt portion ofsubstantially equal cent edges of the thumb and mitt portion, andmeansfor localizing the flexing pliability of the glove, comprisingrelatively stiff plates mounted within the glove one in the mitt portionand one in the thumb portion.

ALBERT HILTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Latina July 13, 1943 OTHER REFERENCESSporting Goods Catalog, Rawlings; Sports; Spring-Summer 1941 (pages 17and 49).

Number

